ZMF Omni (Loaner) Impressions & Stream of Consciousness

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by OJneg, Nov 14, 2015.

  1. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Yup, play around with the front damping if something isn't to your tastes. I know it can be a PITA, and I know some of you just aren't fond of front damping stuff, but it's worth a shot. I tried to experiment a little bit, but didn't get to do much. What I was looking to do was bring up the upper-treble to remove the "veil" without making any glare or etch stronger. Playing around with the back ports can yield interesting or good results too. No damping on the Omni was too bright and ragged for me, though the veil or upper dullness did seem to go away.

    My tip for adjusting front damping, since it will shift around when you put on the pads, it to apply the front damping, center the pads over the front baffle, apply pressure on the front damping through the pads (so, with the inner fabric liner), then attach the pads while you keep that pressure on. It takes some practice, but you'll get it eventually. If you have to adjust the pad angle, you risk moving the damping as well, so try to get it right the first time. ;)

    As nice as Zach's new pads are, you can also try other pads, like the alpha pads from MrSpeakers or the angled HM5-equivalent pads. I think there's further room for tuning based on the pad thickness and external material.
     
  2. DooberKnob

    DooberKnob New

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    What exactly does he perform on the Fostex T50rp to justify an over 500% increase in price?
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Wood cups, better pads, removable connectors, cable, suspension headband, and otherwise make it not sound like shit, which the prior generation T50RPs sounded like stock.
     
  4. sorrodje

    sorrodje Carla Bruni's other lover - Friend

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    @Marv : when will you try this one ?
     
  5. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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  6. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    Update: Take these impressions with a grain of salt. They were tinkered with before I listened to them and the left driver was loose. These impressions are from a modded Omni, not a stock Omni.

    These are pretty good. In terms of comfort, they're a bit clampy and are too heavy for long listening sessions. The pads would be super comfy with less clamp. As it is, they're all squished up and distorted.

    They're a pleasant listen with decent bass. No terribly offensive peaks anywhere. A slight glare somewhere in the upper mids/lower treble (less than the TH-X00). Mid-bass is a little pronounced and sub-bass extension is okay but not great.

    Soundstage is good for a semi-closed can. Feels a bit wider than the TH-X00 but not as deep front to back.

    Clarity is okay, not spectacular. Detail retrieval is more like an oil painting than a crisp computer rendering, if that makes any sense.

    Value is mediocre, in my opinion. I'd recommend these if they were ~$400. I would have said they're worth $500 in a pre-TH-X00 world.

    I slightly prefer the TH-X00 in the semi-closed woodie realm (even if they were identical in cost) to the ZMF Omni and significantly prefer the JVC HP-DX1000 in the actually-closed woodie category.

    This pair loses its grip on the left driver a little when pushed by double bass-driven jazz (no EQ at about 90dB). Slight audible distortion. Double-bass using a bow starts sounding a little artificial, so it doesn't do a tremendous job of rendering wooden instruments (which I was hoping for given the wooden cups). I'd say it's on par with an HD650 at reproducing wooden instruments at best, but probably slightly inferior even to those. Compared to a DX1000, it's a couple tiers down on wooden instrument reproduction, and about a half tier below the TH-X00.

    They also require a lot of power. Single-ended on my Master-11, they need 70 on the volume pot. The same volume can be achieved on an HD650 balanced at 55 or 65 single-ended, so they're actually less sensitive than an HD650. The TH-X00 needs about 50 single-ended.

    I'm judging these as if I purchased them at full price from a non-DIY manufacturer. Having no allegiance to ZMF--and I hear the guy is quite cool--I can't recommended these at the asking price. He transformed a $100 bargain into a $400-$500 can, not an $800 high tier headphone.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2016
  7. MLegend

    MLegend Friend

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    The honest impressions are appreciated.
     
  8. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    Update: Take the above impressions with a grain of salt. They were tinkered with before I listened to them and the left driver was loose. These impressions are from a modded Omni, not a stock Omni.
     
  9. MLegend

    MLegend Friend

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    For real? Why would someone mess with a loaner unit? That's fucked up.
     

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